In recent years, stamping has become increasingly sophisticated due to the intricacy of the available stamp impressions, the use of multiple stamps (i.e. overlapping several stamp impressions) and of various types of inks. In general, stamping devices consist of a rubber stamp attached to an opaque handle and/or mounting plate, and of a separate inking pad for applying ink to the stamp. Frequently, an office or home will have several of these stamping devices as well as one or more inking pads. These prior art configurations typically occupy significant space on a desk, and are prone to being misplaced due to the small size of their components. Also, when multiple stamp impressions are made, it is often difficult to accurately position the stamping device relative to the surface on which the impressions are to be made.
Some of these shortcomings have been recognized by those skilled in the art specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 3,090,304 issued on May 21, 1963 to Sulkie discloses a stamp assembly having a plurality of nested cup-shaped elements (each having tapered sides), and a base support. Each cup-shaped element also includes a mounted inking pad on the inside bottom of the cup and an interchangeably mountable rubber stamp on the outside bottom of the cup. When the cup-shaped elements are nested one on top of the other, each rubber stamp is in contact with the inking pad of the cup below. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 2,891,472 issued on Jun. 23, 1959 to Holzer also covers a nested stamp assembly. As can be readily appreciated, however, the nested cup-shaped configuration of Sulkie and Holzer typically increases the height of the assembly, thereby requiring a base support to increase its stability. In addition, such configurations do not include features to facilitate the alignment of the stamp with the receiving surface.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a stamp assembly which can alleviate the problems associated with prior art devices by providing more efficient storage and handling of the assembly components, and by facilitating the use of these devices, without undesirably increasing their cost.